The present invention concerns an improved tire chain, and more particularly concerns an improved tire chain of the type which is held onto the tire by frictional engagement therewith, without the aid of centrifugal force or positive attachment to the tire.
As one experienced in the field of providing traction devices for use an automotive-type tires under adverse driving conditions, I am familiar with attempts made in this area, and have come to the conclusion that such traction devices are basically of two types; tire chains, and emergency tire chains. Tire chains have a number of cross chains, or grips, placed on the tread about the same distance apart completely around the outer circumference of the tire, with supports to hold the cross chains on both the inner and outer sidewalls of the tire casing, and being attached in such a manner, are said to be positively fastened to the tire, or have a physical attachment to the tire.
Emergency tire chains, however, usually have only a pair of cross chains across the tread, and these chains are fastened to a strap, both at the inner and outer sidewalls of the tire, so that one strap passes through a slot in the wheel, or between the spokes of a wire wheel, and is fastened to the strap from the other side of the tire. In the case of chains which are fastened in such a manner, they are said to be positively attached to the wheel.
There is another type of emergency tire chain which is maintained on the tire initially by frictional engagement therewith, and maintained on the tire during rotation by the action of centrifugal force.
I have previously invented a device of the this type which is held onto the tire by initial frictional engagement, but maintained thereon by centrifugal force, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,704, entitled "Emergency Traction Device" has been issued to me thereon. Such device works entirely satisfactorily, but has been found to be rather expensive to manufacture, and some people have found it to be bulky to apply to the vehicle tire, and for that reason I continued my search for satisfactory traction devices.
The present invention concerns an improved tire chain of a type similar to an emergency tire chain in operation, but differing in appearance and installation on the tire. Whereas the emergency tire chain, as previously stated, attaches to the wheel, the device described in the present application does not attach to the wheel, nor does it attach to the tire by frictional means or by centrifugal force. The improved tire chain also lends itself to being used on tires with radial ply, steelbelted, or bias belted, polyester fiberglass construction, both of which have a extremely flexible sidewall and tread.
The improved tire chain is held onto the tire by positive attachment thereon by a kind of fastener made by providing an indentation in the tire adapted to receive a small portion of the traction device, or by having a portion of such device actually temporarily embed itself in the tire for a small distance on application, and in so doing, a device can be provided which will maintain itself on the tire just as satisfactorily, if not more so, than earlier devices, and be much, much, easier to apply, thus overcoming one of the main problems with these types of devices which has been long standing in the art.
Therefore, it is one of the objects of the present invention to provide an improved tire chain of the type which maintains itself on an automotive-type tire by a kind of fastener engagement therewith.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an improved tire chain, which maintains itself on an automotive-type tire, by having a small portion thereof embed itself temporarily in the sidewall of the automotive tire.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved tire chain of the foregoing nature, wherein said automotive-type tire is provided with a small indentation to receive said portion of said tire chain.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a tire chain which can be placed on the automotive-type tire with very little effort by the user.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved tire chain having two identical gripper portions and being held together by at least one connecting chain member.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a tire chain which is light in weight, and relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved tire chain which can be mounted without removing the tire on which it is desired to mount the device from the vehicle.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a device of the foregoing nature which does not require elevation of the vehicle on whose tires the device is to be mounted.
Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description and appended claims, reference being made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification, wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.